Weston Historical Commission approves Young Road carriage house, flags MassDOT bridge plans

WESTON -- May 6, 2025, Weston Historical Commission advances demolition review for 1827 Sudbury Road Dutch Colonial farmhouse. The commission voted unanimously at its May 6 meeting to find both the Alice M. Elwell house at 18 Sudbury Road and its associated barn historically significant, scheduling a public hearing for June 3 that could trigger a 12-month demolition delay under the town's bylaw; owner Amy Grimm said her family is in early stages of planning to rebuild for energy efficiency and sustainability reasons. In the evening's most favorable outcome, the commission approved outright, without a public hearing, a three-car carriage house addition at the 1912 Benjamin Loring Young house at 21 Young Road, with architect Patrick Ahern saying the stucco-and-slate design was intended to be "totally silent and quiet" in relation to the historic main house. Members also raised sharp concerns about MassDOT engineering drawings for the Merriam Street bridge replacement, which sits within the National Register-listed Silver Hill Historic District; member Alfred Aydelott called the current design "a straight up mass highway bridge" and the commission agreed to request both a site walk and perspective renderings from the agency.